Just days away from Election Day, many women have on TikTok have hinted that they’re voting for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, while their parents are voting for Republican nominee Donald Trump. As part of the trend, each video shows social media users with a piece of paper in hand as they leave their houses to go vote.
"POV, [on my way] to cancel out my Trump-loving husband’s vote in a swing state,” she said, along with a blue heart emoji and an American flag emoji.
This rings so true with me. I was raised in the church and I truly believed in what was taught about loving your neighbor, and caring for the less fortunate as my family and church taught.
Then my senior year of high school my dad (a Deacon in the church) told me that he notices that I tend to make friends with broken people instead of friends that can help me out. And that’s when the first cracks in religions hold on me started to appear.
Today I’m the only one in the family I grew up in not voting for trump. I’m also the only one who gave up on church. My sister went even deeper by seeking out a fringe Baptist congregation that believes some really fucked up shit, and my brother followed in my dad’s footsteps and became a Deacon. Last week my mom explained to me how it’s the culture of the inner-cities that makes violence and crime so common. It isn’t race, it’s culture. She thinks she’s being open-minded. And they all think they are good people. ‘They’d do anything for you’… as long as you’re part of the church - even then, don’t ask too often.
I’m ranting now, but damn, how is it so hard for people to just genuinely be good and helpful?
Ironically leaving the church is the most Christian thing to do.
My parents were religious, but didn’t go to church. Got in fight with my dad and left with no where to go. Got picked up by some church leader, who broght me to church and ended up hiring me to sell cutco knifes.
Something someone at the church said that still sticks with me today and influences my opinion being that a lot of them really aren’t good people. They pretend around their colleagues, but it’s all fake. They basically said something along the lines of we saw you hitchhiking and would have given you a ride if only we knew you’d be here. Um, thanks I guess. For letting me know I’m not worthy of your help unless. I’m part of your little cult of lies.